Creeper



June 22 1926. I 1,590,066

J. ABETZ CREEPER Filed Sept. 11, 1925 Patented June 22, 1926.

UhllTE SiAtEti iseacas JGSEPH ABE'TZ, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

CREEPER.

Application filed September My invention relates to improvements increepers, of the form that is applied tothe heel of a shoe or otherfootwear for preventing slipping under conditions of icy and slipperygoing for foot travelers and the object of my improvement is to producea creeper that, while primarily. as shown, is adapted to be applied tothe heels of rubher overshoes and taking advantage for securing aholding effect of a rounded, rolled, or curled edge that is more or lesscommon thereon, is adapted to be appliedto leather heels by suitablechanges in details, particularly as to height of the inwardlyoverhanging flanges that are provided, and in which means of convenientform are pro vided for adjustment for a particular size of shoe.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved creeper as applied to arubber heel.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the creeper.

Figure at is a sectional view on the line 4% of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the front end portion.

Figure 6 is a bottom view of a modification, showing a different form ofteeth, made integral with the plates.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side view of a few of the teeth shown in Fig.6 with the adjacent parts. 1

My improved creeper comprises a pair of mating plates 10 that haveoverlapping ends 11 at the rear and that are held together at the frontby means of a cross-piece or tieplate 12 and which are provided with aset of teeth 13 that project downwardly from the under faces forcontacting with the ice in walking.

As shown, the creeper is applied to the heel 14; of a rubber overshoeand particularly as will be described has means for being held in placeby engaging with the bead or rolled flange 15 of said heel 1% and whichbulges outwardly relatively to the adjacent face of the rubber.

The plates 10 each comprise a fiat platelike body 16 that extendslongitudinally and to which the teeth or prongs 13 are attached byscrew-thread engagement with the walls of the openings 17 that aredistributed over said body 16.

At the lateral edge of the body 16 in each case there is an upstandingflange 18 that 11, 1925. Serial No. 55,860.

has the top edge 19 turned inwardly so as to overhang the lnner space,the structure of said flange 18 being such that it wlllsubstantiallyenclose the opposed head 15 on the 69 means in cooperationwith thebead on the rubber or the like is of appreciable extent inthelongitudinal direction at the sides and also extends in curved formaround the rear, terminating, as shown, adjacent the overlappingconnecting ends 11 of said flange proper 18.

' The overlapping endsll at the rear are extensions of the flanges 18.The inner of said overlapping ends 11 has a plurality ofscrew-threadedopenings 20 for the locking bolt 21 and the outer thereofhas a laterally directed slot 22 for the body of said bolt 21. i

At the front end of each of the plates 10 there may be a lug 23, at theupper corner, and that has an opening 24 for a cord, the two cords beingtied together over the foot of the wearer as an emergency measure.

The tie 12 extends across the front ends of the plates 10, in contactwith the bottom faces thereof, and is held in place by means of screws26 that extend upwardly from the bottom, through slots 2'? in the tie,and that engage with screw-threaded holes 28 in the plates 10.

As shown, there are two slots 27 and two screws 26 at each end 29 of thetie 12, wherefore, the plate designated as the tie 12 operates not onlyas a simple tie, to sustain longitudinal strain, but also serves tounite the plates 10 into a substantially unitary plate structure as tothe mechanical features.

The use of the screws and the slotted structures shown and describedpermits of adjusting the plate structures 10 so as to fit a particularshoe. Generally,.the adjustment obtained will produce a setting suchthat the creeper can-be readily slipped on and off the heel by the useof a small amount of force and will be held snugly in place without theuse of the cords 25.

In lieu of the screw-threaded teeth or prongs 13 there may be used teeth13 that are formed integral with the body 16" of the plate 10 as shownin Fig. 6 by slitting the material along two sides to form a point.horder or head thev outer eornenor 80 and bending the points 30downwardly.

The screw-threaded teeth or prongs 13 are removable and interchangeable.Fixed 1y secured teeth may he provided in lieu of the teeth 13 thatare-held in "place by riveting.

In order to permit of the use of relatively thin sheet metal and at thesome, time. pro.- vide for a sufficient number of screw-threads screwsor bolts, particularly the screws or bolts that are used to hold theparts at a certain setting or. adjustment, comprising 21 for the rearand 26 for the cross-plate, the Cooperating f-ICfQW-tl1T9ll holes aremade relatively elongated by forcing; me-

terialthet atithe borders oft-he holes for= \vzirdly so as to extendbeyond the adjacent face or the "plate or sheet.

The structure shown and des-erihed is adapted for use with rubbervershoes havinga laterally proieoting or overhanging oige such as to beadapted to be substantially e11 .closed by the upstanding" flange 18.the

- inwardly overhanging top edge or lip 19 that is provided thereon.

The structure is also edepted foruse With leather heels or With heels;of leather that are provided with a rubber heel of common form byproviding it groove for the edge orlip 19-. Sue-h n groove is easilymade by y a tool 111 the form of a revolving cutter and which iscommonly found in the equipment of a. modern shoe repair shop.

1 claim as my'invention In a creeper for use ,vqith a rubber shoe or thelikehe 1g en outwardlyprojecting head b iering the heel structure, mpair ot' etin )iatesheving' opposed ndndj-acent plate: hod1es,'iienges po ecting upwardiges for enclosing said head for serving holding moons,and a bridge plate ,ooii-v nee-ted along the lower faces oi the forwarden s of plate-like bodies.

'JQEEBH AB -T

